Shingle mechanism



Oct. 27, 1964 G. H. WILLIAMSON 3,154,307

SHINGLE MECHANISM Filed Nov. 17, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INV ENT OR. Gsoass Hwlmmsou Fi Baghxfiw ATTORNEY e. H. WILLIAMSON 3,154,307

smucua: MECHANISM Filed Nov. 17, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I! v 1 |||||||||||||J||||l|| IO INVENTOR.

Gzonca Hwnumsou ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,154,367 SEEJGLE MECHAWEH George H. Williamson, Somervilie, Ni, assignor to .iehns- Manville Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Nov. 17, 1966, Ser. l o. 69365 5 Claims. (Cl. 271-71) The invention relates to a method and mechanism for manufacturing asphalt shingles, and the like; more specilically, it relates to a method and a stacking unit for stacking asphalt shingles, and the like, into bundles, convenient for handling and shipping.

Asphalt shingles are ordinarily conveyed during manufacture in a continuous stream to a stacking station at the terminus of a conveyor, with the long edge of each shingle parallel to the direction of travel and with the shingles closely spaced to one another. At the present time, all shingles commercially manufactured are stacked manually or semi-automatically. The shingles are shot from the terminus of the conveyor into a collector pan, where they are allowed to accumulate to a height of approximately 7 or 8 shingles. A human stacker removes the shingles from the pan and places them into a wrapper. Several stacks of such collected shingles are removed until a signal, either aural or visual, indicates to the stacker that the proper number of shingles for a bundle has been emitted from the conveyor. The stacker then stacks the shingles to include the shingle upon which the signal was given, pushes the bundle of shingles to a secondary conveyor, and commences to stack another bundle of shingles in a similar manner. The bundle is, meanwhile, conveyed to another station of the fabricating machine.

Besides the ever present disadvantages existing with manual labor, such as, for example, injury to personnel and the requirement of training the personnel to perform this bundle stacking operation, the most serious problem with such a manual stacking operation is that there are serious limitations placed upon the conveyor speed of the system. Human capabilities are such that the conveyor speed can be increased only a certain amount; any further increase causes the machine to run at too high a rate for a single manual stacker to handle effectively the shingles emitted therefrom. The only recourse remaining with the utilization of relatively high machine speeds is to split the outlet into two lanes, with half the shingles going to one lane and the other half going to another lane. However, this requires an additional manual stacker, with each stacker operating at approximately /2 /4 speed or etliciency, as compared to the stacking efliciency with slower machine speeds and a single outlet lane. Most fabricating machines cannot have their rates of output doubled to place the manual stackers at maximum stacking efficiency.

An object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a novel shingle stacker or take-off mechanism for asphalt shingles, and the like, conveyed in a relatively continuous stream on a conveyor system.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel method of stacking flexible sheets, as, for example, asphalt shingles, and the like.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a novel shingle stacker which automatically stacks asphalt shingles, and the like, into an aligned bundle of the proper height.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel shingle stacking device for stacking asphalt shingles, and the like, capable of accommodating wide ranges of shingle fabricating or conveyor speeds.

Still an additional object of this invention is to provide a shingle stacking unit for stacking asphalt shingles,

3,1543%? Patented Oct. 27, 1954 and the like, wherein the stacker is capable of accomodating a wide variety of types of shingles, i.e., relative to shingle lengths and widths and shingle thicknesses, and also capable of accommodating various types of shingle fabricating machines.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide an automatic shingle stacking unit for' asphalt shingles, and the like, which will precisely amass consistently and continuously a predetermined number of shingles into a bundle.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide an automatic shingle stacking unit for asphalt shingles, and the like, which will properly stagger the shingles within a bundle and also maintain proper alignment of the shingles comprising the bundle.

These and other objects will be readily apparent from the following description of the invention.

In brief, this invention relates to a shingle stacking unit or automatic shingle take-01f unit, wherein a pair of spoked units are mounted adjacent the terminus of an asphalt shingle conveyor. The units are mounted for contra-rotation, and indexing of the units is provided to incorporate a dwell period, during which the shingles are allowed to enter the spoked arrangement, and to incorporate a rotational period, during which the spoked construction is rotated to a new position for a new accumulation of shingles into small stacks. In the preferred form of construction, the spoked arrangement comprises a plurality of plates radiating from a pair of parallel hubs, and stops are provided therein to halt the forward progress of the shingles. During the accumulation of the shingles into small stacks, a pair of spokes acts as a bottom support for the shingles accumulated therein, and an adjacent pair of spokes acts as a guide to direct properly the shingles, emitted from the conveyor, into the spoked construction. The rotation of the spoked constructions is such that after a predetermined number of shingles has been amassed in the shingle stacker, the spokes comprising the support are removed from support engagement with the shingles. As a result, the shingles drop, partially because of their own weight and partially by being forced downwardly by the next pair of spokes rotating into shingle support position. The spokes acting as guides are indexed into shingle support position, with additional spokes simultaneously being rotated into place to act as guides for the additional shingles emitted from the shingle manufacturing machine.

The shingles ejected from the stacker are received on a rotatable platform, which has incorporated therein moveable plates to guide the shingles onto the platform and also to maintain the shingles aligned and properly stacked. At periodic intervals the platform is rotated to stagger the bundle stacking arrangement. After a complete bundle of shingles has been accumulated, it is pushed off the platform to a conveyor which transfers the bundle to another station of the fabricating system.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is an end sectional view taken along section lines 11 of FIG. 2, showing a preferred embodiment of the shingle take-off mechanism or shingle stacker;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the shingle take-off mechanism of this invention with relation to a shingle conveyor at the end of a shingle fabricating machine; and

FIG. 3 is an elevation view of the mechanism illustrated in FIG. 2.

Referring to each of the figures, a conveyor 28 is positioned adjacent the end of an asphalt shingle fab-ricating machine and is rotated by a plurality of drums 27 (only one of which is shown), the latter of which may be motor driven or which may receive their rotational impetus via belt and pulley or gear arrangements connected to one or several main power sources. The

shingles S lie upon the conveyor belt 28, so that they travel at the same rate of speed as the speed rate of the conveyor belt. The shingles are ordinarily situated relative to thebelt 28 so that their long dimensions are parallel to the line of movement of the shingles and the short dimensions are approximately transverse thereto. The shingles are closely juxtapositioned, usually approximately 6 to 12 apart.

The term asphalt shingle refers to a shingle formed from a flexible type of bituminous impregnated felt coated with various types of asphalts and/or bitumens and having granules embedded in the coating. The particular composition of the shingle is not germane to the instant invention, and the shingle capable of being taken off or stacked according to the instant invention may have diiferent characteristics or may be of a wide range of formula, with respect to the composition thereof. It may be lightweight or heavyweight, may vary in size so as to be of single, double, or triple length, and may vary in thickness so as to be relatively planar or tapered. Moreover, the shingles may have difierent types of base felts, either organic or inorganic, or may contain several laminated felts therein. The coating also may be selected from a wide range of asphalt or bitumen coating formulas. Generically, such various types of shingles are considered to be asphalt shingles, as they are basically the same and are used for the same purpose and in a similar manner.

Adjacent the terminus of the conveyor is positioned the shingle take-oi or shingle stacker 1. The latter comprises a pair of hubs or shafts 8, 8a, positioned adjacent the conveyor so as to have the longitudinal axes of the shafts approximately in line with the direction of movement of the shingles S emitted from the conveyor 28. Arms 4, 5, 6, 7 (also referred to as plates or spokes) radiate from hub 3 and arms 4a, 5a, 6a, 7a radiate from the hub or shaft 8a. The arms are equally spaced on each of the hubs so as to provide a pair of approximately similar spoked wheel arrangements 2, 3. The number of spokes on each of the hubs is not critical; however, a preferred and convenient arrangement is to have four plates or spokes on each shaft, with the plates'being spaced approximately 90 apart upon each of the hubs. Seen best in FIG. 1, compartments are periodically formed by the spokes. For example, in the stacker position illustrated, a compartment is formed by arms 5, 5a acting as side guides and plates 4, 4a acting as the floor.

The dimension between radiating spokes, as, for example, between spokes 5 and 5a of FIG. 1, conforms to slightly more than the width dimension of the largest standard shingle ordinarily being manufactured on the particular asphalt shingle fabricating machine, so that each plate, in height, is approximately slightly more than one-half the width of the widest standard shingle being fabricatedl Each of'the radiating arms is' made of a length so that the longest standard asphalt shingle being manufactured on the particular asphalt shingle manufacturing line is capable of being accommodated therein. Adjacent the terminus of the conveyor 23, the corner of each of the radiating armsis rounded 015? and turned outwardly so that when the arms are in their approximate vertical position, as seen in FIG. 1, the'ends are bent away from each otherf The function of the rounded and turned-out edges 17, 18, 19, 29 on unit 2, and 17a, 18a, 15%;, 25:; on unit 3 willbe described more fully hereinafter. Adjacent the opposite end of'the stacker 1, end plates 26, 26a are secured to each of the units 2,}, respectively; the end plates act as stops for the moving asphalt shingles received'in the stacker 1.

Shafts 8, 8a are mounted in bearings 9, 9a on one end of the stacker and bearings 1%, 1 on the opposite end of the stacker. The bearings not onlysupport the stacker 1, but also allow for rotation for each of the shafts 8, 8a. Adjacent one end of the stacker on the shafts 8, 8a are mounted a pair of synchronizing drive gears 11, 11a imparting synchronous rotational movement thereto. An indexing unit 13 is coupled to gear 11a, via a gear 12, to impart rotational drive to the synchronous gearing arrangement at periodic intervals; in turn, the indexing mechanism 13 receives its power from a drive motor 16 via interconnected gears 1 15. Numerous types of indexing drives are available on the commercial market so that a wide variety of indexing mechanism is available. In one form of construction used, the indexer has an intermittent clutch and brake arrangement therein, with power being continuously transmitted to the input side of the indexer but rotational movement at gear 12 is imparted only at intermittent intervals according to certainelectrical impulses received by the clutch and brake arrangement.

The impulses transmitted to the indexer 13 may be generated in an electric eye unit having a receiver 29a, a transmitter 29, and a beam 30 (shown best in FIG. 3). The electric eye unit may be positioned adjacent the terminus of the conveyor 28 so that its beam 30 is intermittently broken by the shingles S passing thereby. The beam 36 energizes the indexer 13 after a predetermined number of shingles have passed. It is immaterial to the indexer as to how many shingles enter the compartments formed between the units 2, 3, and actuation of the indexer 13, to provide drive to the shafts 8, 5a, may occur with, say, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 shingles accumulated in the stacker 1. The number of shingles stacked in a compartment between the units 2, 3, at times may be governed by the desired stacking arrangement of the shingles within a bundle. For example, if the shingle being manufactured has a relatively :large taper, or if the shingle has a relatively thick protuberance thereupon, as, for example, an adhesive stripe, it may be necessary to have only three or four shingles deposited within the take-ofi unit 1 before the indexer 13 is actuated to provide for rotation of the units 2, 3. Such rotation places a newly formed empty compartment in a position to receive emitted shingles and allows the shingles stacked within the previously formed compartment to be dropped or to be allowed to drop of their own weight. As noted hereinafter, the dropped shingles may be rotated 180, so that the subsequently stacked shingles in the same bundle will be staggered relative to the previously dropped shingles.

To prevent sagging or drooping of the shingles as they leave the conveyor 28, which may result from the fact that the shingles are ordinarily quite flexible and from the fact that the shingles no longer receive the drive support from the conveyor 28 when positioned over or within the stacker, the shingles may be more positively driven by utilizing an idler roller 40 bearing against drum 27 and the shingles S as they pass thereby. Idler roller 40 is maintained in tight engagement with the shingles passing therebeneath and is mounted on a shaft 41, the latter being supported for rotation in bearings 41a. A support plate 80 also assists to support the shingles during their transfer from conveyor 28 to the stacker 1, while guide plates 81, 82maintain proper alignment of the shingles S with the formed compartment.

With certain asphalt shingles, bounce-back of the shingles within the stacker occurs. To prevent the shingles from projecting outside the rear end of the stacker, a circular backstop is positioned adjacent the rear of unit 2. The backstop does not impede the entry of the shingles into the shingle take-off machine.

The longer of the standard asphalt shingles manufactured at the present time has a pair of spaced slits extending from the butt to the center portion of each shingle. To prevent shingles entering the take-oif unit from catching a slit, raised projections 69 are mounted on each of the plates 4a, 5a, 6a, and 7a. In the at-rest position of a shingle within the stacker 1, the forward edge of the central tab and the forward edge of the rearward tab of the shingle are raised slightly by being superimposed over the projections 69.

Subjacent the unit 1 is a platform 31 used for support of the stacks of shingles being amassed into a single bundle B. Platform 31 is supported by a post 32 mounted for rotation by bearings 37 in a bearing housing 38 attached to the base. Drive is imparted to the post at periodic intervals, as dictated by the particular stacking arrangement within each of the bundles. A simple convenient system is to have a spur gear 33 mating with a rack gear 34, the latter of which is coupled to a fluid type actuating motor 36 via its plunger 35. It is to be understood that various types of rotational imparting mechanism may be utilized and still stay within the purview and in tent of this invention. The fluid motor 36 may receive its actuating impulse from the electric eye unit 29, 29a, or from the indexing mechanism 1.3. The number of actuations of the motor 36 during the stacking of a particular bundle depends upon the type of shingle being manufactured and the relative unbalance in height of one side or edge of a bundle of shingles as compared to an opposite side or edge. A bundle, uneven in height without rotation, may require three or four rotations of support 32; on the other hand, the shingles S may be such that they are bundled into a relatively neat, even-dimensioned, parallelepipedonal package without any staggering; with such a formed bundle B, post 32 need not be rotated. The shingles S, after being stacked to the proper height, are transmitted to an additional conveyor 5'2, which transfers the bundle B to an additional station of the fabricating machine, as, for example, a fastener machine which secures the bundle. Transfer may be accomplished with the use of a pusher bar 50 attached to a motor 51. TL latter may be actuated by a signal from the electrical eye 2?, 29a.

During the transfer of the shingles from take-d unit it to platform 31 and also from the latter to conveyor 52,, the small stacks are maintained in alignment so that ultimately the shingles comprising a bundle are in alignment and are maintained in alignment during transfer. To accomplish this, a pair of side guide plates 55, '8 are hinged at 56:: and 58:: respectively, the hinges being anchored to the platform 31 (FIG. 1). Side plate 56 is pivoted about its hinge by a motor 57 connected thereto by an operating plunger 55. Side plate 58 is pivoted about its hinge by a motor 6% connected thereto by an operating plunger 59. In one extreme position, plates es and se are at acute angles relative to the plane of the platform 31. The positioning of the plates is such so as to allow free entry of the shingles from the stacker, i.e., without having any of the shingles striking the tops of the plates.

The front and rear edges of the bundle being formed on platform 31 are kept in alignment by plates 6l and the latter being connected to motors s2 and 66 via connecting links 62, 65. The alignment plates 61, as are pivoted about hinges 61a and 64a, which are anchored to the platform 31. In the retracted position of plates 61 and 64, they are approximately parallel to the plane of platform 31. Front plate 61 is thusly retracted in order to allow bar 50 to pass thereover to push a bundle of shingles onto conveyor 52. Rear plate 64 is retracted to a horizontal position in order to permit a bundle B to slide thereover during transfer from the platform to conveyor 52. If desired, plate 64, when in its horizontal position, may be recessed slightly relative to the platform 31 so as not to present any obstacle in the path of a moving bundle B.

In the other extreme position of each of the alignment plates 61, 64, 56, and 58, the latter are vertical. With standard shingles, the plates contact the bundle at all four edges, bringing the shingles out of alignment into alignment and thereby squaring the bundle.

A hugger belt 57, positioned opposite conveyor 52 and rotated by drums 68, is used to help maintain the shingles, in a bundle being transferred, from slipping out of alignment. Thus, the lower and upper shingles in a bundle are engaged by conveyor 52 and hugger belt 67 and the bundle is tightly held therebetween until a constant velocity of the bundle is reached, at which time the bundle may be conveyed by conveyor 52 alone without danger of shingles slipping into misalignment.

In the operation of the take-off unit, the shingles S are transmitted in a continuous stream from the conveyor 28. Adjacent the end of the conveyor the shingles S are more positively driven by being frictionally engaged with roller 4-4 During transfer of the shingles to the stacker, they are supported by the support plate 81 and guided into the stacker by the side guide plates 81, 82. The outwardly flared edges 17, 17a act as funnels permitting proper entry of the shingles into the stacker even when the shingles are slightly misaligned therewith. The first point of contact between the shingles and the arms 4, 4:1, for example, (referring to FIG. 2), is approximately midway of the longitudinal lengths of the individual spoked wheels 2, 3. Being carried forward by the conveyor 28 and the roller ill, a shingle, entering the compartment formed by walls 4, 4a and the walls 5, 5a, is carried forward until it is fully supported by the plates 4, 4a, acting as the fioor and the edge strikes the end plates 26, 26a, the latter halting the forward movement of the shingle S. To counteract any tendencies of the shingles to bounce back rearwardly, the shingles are halted in rearward movement by the stop 7%). if a three tab shingle is being manufactured, the tabs are finally positioned so as to have the forward edge of the center tab of each shingle slightly raised by the forward projection 69. The forward edge of the rearmost tab of each shingle is superimposed over the rearmost projection 69 so as to be slightly elevated from the plane of spoke 4a. The raised forward portions of the center and rear tabs permit the next shingle entering the stacker to slide freely and not be snagged by the cut-outs of the shingles previously received by the stacker 1.

A shingle S may enter the take-off unit 1 while the rotating units 2, 3, by the indexing operation, are in the rotational phase of an indexing cycle. This is likely to occur, for example, at high speeds of manufacture of shingles. To prevent a shingle S from striking a corner of, say, the arms 5, 5a, and, subsequently being improperly positioned within a formed compartment or jamming the outlet of the conveyor, the corner of each of the rotatable arms is rounded ofl. Since the shingles may enter the take-off unit 1 before the shafts 8, 8a are rotated fully and at high speeds before the shafts are rotated 6070, approx mately at least a 5l0 rotational advantage is obtained by such rounding out of the end edges of the rotatable arms. This advantage in angular entry results also from the fact that shafts 8, 8a are positioned slightly lower than the exit point of the shingles S on the conveyor 28.

After a predetermined number of shingles have entered a formed compartment, the electric eye mechanism actuates the indexer 13 to commence rotation of the individual units 2, 3. The shingles retained and supported by arms 4, 4a lose their support until eventually arms 4, 4a are out of contact with the shingles supported thereby, so that the small stack of shingles falls onto a subjacent open wrapper or only on the subjacent platform 31. The speed of rotation of the spoked units 2, 3 is ordinarily quite high causing the shingles to drop to the platform below partially by gravity and partially through the action of the adjacent plates 5, 5a forcing the shingles downwardly.

Upon continued rotation of the units 2, 3, a position is reached, shortly before the dwell position of the units 2, 3, wherein arms 5, 5a are rotated out of the direct path of the oncoming shingles S, and the shingles commence to enter the compartment newly formed between the arms 5, 5a, the guides comprised of the arms 6, 6a, and the end closure plates 25, 26a.

The platform 31 may remain in the position shown in FIG. 1 until a proper height or stack of shingles in a bundle is reached without staggering. On the other hand, if a staggering arrangement is to be imparted, periodic impulses are passed to the fluid motor 36, activated either by the electric eye mechanism 29, 30 or any other convenient detector, so that linear movement is imparted to rack gear 34, which in turn rotates support shaft 32 via the gear 33.

The shingle aligner plates 61, 64, 56, and 58- can be actuated at preselected periodic intervals via their actua ing motors to straighten the shingles forming into a bundle. In one form of actuation, the motors 63, 66, 5'7, and 64) are simultaneously actuated upon each shingle drop to the platform below. The usually small number of shingles insures alignment of the shingles, since each stack is constantly aligned with the bundle being formed. With such an alignment procedure, no single misaligned shingle can possibly have a great weight of shingles. superimposed thereover preventing its being forced into alignment.

Upon actuation of motors 63, d6, 57, and fill, the alignment plates are projected into vertical position engaging the four edges of the bundle thereby aligning all the adjacent superposed edges. If no rotation of the platform 31 occurs, the motors are retracted thereby returning plates 56, 58 to their angular position and plates 61, 64 to their horizontal position.

In the event a rotation of the platform 31 is programmed during the alignment portion of the bundling cycle, the guide plates 61, 64, 56, 5S perform an additional function. They maintain the shingles on the platform in alignment during such rotation, preventing misalignment due to inertia of the shingles. Upon completion of 180 of rotation of the platform, the motors are timed to retract to place the guide plates in their at-rest position, as noted.

Alignment plates 56, 58 provide an additional function by their strategic location. Since movement of the bundles is never over any one of the plates 56, 58, they may be maintained in an at-rest position at a slight angle to the vertical. When the shingles are received upon the platform 31, they consequently act as guide plates assisting to maintain alignment during fall of the shingles. This guide function can also be incorporated into plates 61, 64; however, such added function would necessitate a more complicated programming.

After a bundle B has been amassed to the proper height, the motor 51 is activated to actuate bar 50 to push the bundle between conveyor 52 and hugger belt 67. The conveyor and belt may be continuously operated or intermittently operated so as to be in functional position only when a bundle is about to be received between themselves. The hugger belt may be of such a length so as to release the bundle after a predetermined velocity of bundle has been reached, thereby preventing any shingles in the bundle from slipping or moving rearwardly due to the inertia effect.

From the conveyor 52, the bundles B are transferred to another station, as, for example, a bundle wrapping station.

In the preceding description of the invention, the takeoff unit has been described and illustrated with relation to a single lane, i.e., wherein a single stream of individual shingles is manufactured and transmitted upon a conveyor system. Standard commercial asphalt shingle manufacturing machines have at least three such lanes, with four or five lanes not being uncommon, so that a plurality of take-off units for a machine must be used. The number of shingle stacker units conforms to the number of lanes in the fabricating machine. However, this ordinarily presents no problem as the termini of the conveyor systems may be staggered relative to each other, resulting in takeoff units staggered with respect to each other.

A fabricating machine provides asphalt shingles, car- 7 ried in a continuous stream upon a conveyor, with a spacing of approximately 6" to 12" between shingles. With a belt speed or conveyor speed or" approximately 400 feet per minute, and with a spacing of 6", the indexer has theoretically approximately th of a second between shingles, regardless of the number of shingles within a particular compartment, to paSs through approximately 6G70 of its rotational phase of the indexing cycle. In the embodiment of the invention described and illustrated herein, the mechanical operation of the stacker unit was such that sufficient time was had to perform the indexing operation while maintaining proper stacking of shingles within the stacker unit.

Asphalt shingle fabricating machines in commercial use have a maximum speed of shingle manufacture of approximately 500550 feet per minute. The usual operating speed ranges between 256-350 feet per minute. It is above speeds of approximately 250 feet per minute that the stacker unit is of marked advantage, since above tln's speed difiiculties are commenced to be encountered with manual stackers.

The operation of the complete stacker unit, including the rotatable platform, has been described in its basic operations. it is to be understood that the various operating functions are ordinarily timed to operate automatically. For example, an electronic program timer may be used to energize the various motors at predetermined intervals and according to a predetermined schedule. A convenient source for energizing such a program timer is the electric eye unit 29, 29a, 39, which may send a signal after the passage of a selected number of shingles. The various valves for the various motors, which may be either hydraulic, electric, or air motors, have not been illustrated, such connections being Within the scope of one skilled in the art. The program timer would operate the various valves in the proper order according to the schedule set therein.

While the invention has been described in rather full detail, it will be understood that these details need not be strictly adhered to and that various changes and modifications may suggest themselves to one skilled in the art, all falling within the scope of the invention as defined by the subjoined claims.

What I claim is:

1. A shingle stacker for stacking shingles being continuously emitted from a shingle conveyor comprising a pair of parallel hubs approximately parallel to the direction of movement of the conveyor and positioned adjacent the terminus of the conveyor, a plurality of plates equally spaced on the hubs, means to index the hubs and attached plates in opposite directions of rotation so that during each dwell period one pair of plates is aligned and in position to receive shingles from the conveyor and to act as supports for the shingles and an adjacent pair of plates forms substantially vertical guide means, the corners of the plates adjacent the conveyor being rounded so as to decrease the possible receiving angle of the shingles relative to the indexing of the hubs and attached plates, and the corners being turned outwardly away from the direction of rotation of the plates to provide a funnel eifect for the shingles being received.

2. A shingle stacker for stacking shingles continuously being emitted from a shingle conveyor comprising a spoked wheel construction having a hub and a plurality of radiating arms, a second spoked wheel construction similar tothe first and positioned adjacent thereo, said spoked wheel constructions being positioned relative to the terminus of the shingle conveyor so as to receive shingles therefrom, means to index the two constructions in synchronization so as to have during dwell a pair of arms providing support of the shingles received from the conveyor and a pair of arms acting as shingle guides, means to halt the forward progress of the shingles after they enter the spoked wheel construction, and means to prevent the shingles fro-n1 bouncing back from the forward progress halting means so that the shingles are held in place on said arms.

3. A shingle stacker for stacking shingles continuously being emitted from a shingle conveyor comprisirn support means to accumulate the shingles in small stacks adjacent the terminus of the conveyor, a rotatable platform subjacent said latter means, means to remove the support means from an accumulated small stack permitting the stack to drop on the platform, means to rotate the platform at periodic intervals to stagger the stacking arrangement of the shingles thereupon, means to align the shingles on the platform, and means to maintain alignment of the shingles during rotation of the platform.

4. A shingle stacker for stacking shingles being continuously emitted from a shingle conveyor comprising a hub, a plurality of spokes radiating from the hub and equally spaced thereupon, said spokes and hub being positioned relative to the terminus of the conveyor so as to receive shingles approximately parallel to the hub axis, means to index the hub and arms so as to have a dwell position wherein one of the arms acts as a bottom support for the shin les and an adjacent arm acts as a shingle guide, means to support and guide the shingles in their movement between the conveyor and the arms,

eans to halt the forward movement of the shingles after they enter the hub and arm arrangement, means to prevent the shingles from bouncing back from the forward movement halting means, and means responsive to the passage of a predeternnned number of shingles to commence the rotational phase of the indexing cycle, said rotation being elfective to remove the bottom support of the shingles permitting them to drop.

5. A shingle stacker for stacking shingles being continuously emitted from a shingle conveyor comprising a pair of parallel hubs approximately parallel to the direction of movement of the conveyor and positioned adjacent the terminus of the conveyor, tour plates equally spaced on the hubs, means to index the hubs and attached plates in opposite directions of rotation so that during each dwell period a pair of plates are aligned and in position to receive shingles from the conveyor and to act as supports for the shingles, adjacent plates being in substantially vertical position to form side guide means, and the corners of the plates adjacent the conveyor being rounded so as to decrease the possible receiving angle of the shingles relative to the indexing of the hubs and attached plates, and the corners being turned outwardly opposite the direction of rotation of the plates to provide a funnel eifect to aid in receiving shingles from the conveyor.

References (Jited in the file of this patent UNETED STATES PATENTS 738,778 Cundall Sept. 15, 1903 1,365,741 Speer Fan. 18, 1921 1,943,500 Winlzler Jan. 16, 1934 2,133,264 Wolff Oct. 11, 1938 2,560,252 Schefe .suly 10, 1951 2,668,483 Sykes Feb. 9, 1954 2,675,928 Slater Apr. 20, 1954 2,697,388 Hansen Dec. 21, 1954 2,821,123 Fuller Ian. 28, 1958 

3. A SHINGLE STACKER FOR STACKING SHINGLES CONTINUOUSLY BEING EMITTED FROM A SHINGLE CONVEYOR COMPRISING SUPPORT MEANS TO ACCUMULATE THE SHINGLES IN SMALL STACKS ADJACENT THE TERMINUS OF THE CONVEYOR, A ROTATABLE PLATFORM SUBJACENT SAID LATTER MEANS, MEANS TO REMOVE THE SUPPORT MEANS FROM AN ACCUMULATED SMALL STACK PERMITTING THE STACK TO DROP ON THE PLATFORM, MEANS TO ROTATE THE PLATFORM AT PERIODIC INTERVALS TO STAGGER THE STACKING ARRANGEMENT OF THE SHINGLES THEREUPON, MEANS TO ALIGN THE SHINGLES ON THE PLATFORM, AND MEANS TO MAIN- 